


Bad Romance

by Sidi



Series: Bad Romance [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alcohol, Aphrodisiacs, Biting, Galra Keith (Voltron), Its Consensual but Lotor is manipulative, Keitor, Klance is fairly background, Lotor's Hair, M/M, Manipulation, Mildly Dubious Consent, Minor Character Death, Mirror Sex, Not the focus - Freeform, Rough Sex, Why isn't Lotor's hair a tag, some violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2018-12-15 01:41:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11795799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sidi/pseuds/Sidi
Summary: Keith plays with fire by trusting the pretty prince of the Galra empire.





	1. I Want Your Drama

**Author's Note:**

> File this under I need to get this out of my system and I love Keith and Lotor even though most of the fanbase has decided the Lotor ship is Lancelot.

Keith regrets nothing.

He presses his hand against the healing pod. The pale blue color inside the tube casts an unsettling shade across the green paladin’s resting face.

It isn’t the first time one of them has been in a healing pod, but it is the first time that one of them would need to be in a healing pod for so long that the team could not just stand around and wait for them to get out. Allura had made everyone leave to rest and the room is empty now except for Keith.

Pidge will live and that is all that matters to Keith. He doesn’t have time for regrets now.

He hears footsteps behind him. He pauses before turning, hoping it is Hunk or Allura, praying that it isn’t anyone else in the castle.

“You killed that alien.”

Keith groans inwardly. It is Lance and probably the person Keith wants to see the least right now. Lance had been the only witness to what occurred in the events that led to Pidge being in the pod.

Keith pauses, looking at Pidge one more time before turning to look at Lance. The mission they had been on had gone south fast and, as Keith saw it, the decision came down to an innocent bystander dying or Pidge, who was already gravely injured.

And, in that situation, he would choose Pidge without question, every time.

Once reaching the castle, there had been initial chaos followed by a deadly calm as Allura and Coran worked to save Pidge’s life. Apparently, she was so bad that they couldn’t just throw her in the pod. Keith had sat listening to Allura and Coran work, trying not to make eye contact with Lance, carefully avoiding Hunk and Shiro’s gentle questions about what exactly happened.

“Did you want me to let Pidge die?” Keith finally responds.

Because that was the choice. Pidge or this other alien. Either way Keith approached it, the answer came up the same. Practically, Pidge meant more to the universe. Emotionally, Pidge meant more to him.

“You needed to wait and let me think. I could have come up with something…” Lance is clearly upset, in that spot between anger and sadness, voice shaking.

“You had your chance to come up with something. We were out of time.” He wills Lance to understand.

“You don’t even seem to care that you killed someone innocent today, that we had to listen to his _widow_ crying the entire way back to the castle…”

“I do. I do care, but there was no other choice unless you wanted Pidge to die. Did you want Pidge to die?”

In some dim part of Keith’s brain, he understands that it was a bad mission and that they should probably not even be discussing it right now. Their emotions are frayed, they are exhausted, they are not thinking rationally or communicating well.

“Shiro would have done a better job,” Lance says, crossing his arms.  

“Probably, but he isn’t the leader of Voltron right now, is he?”

Keith stomps out of the room, carefully avoiding looking at the tall boy as he walks past him. All of the bonding, the understanding, the blooming closeness between them seems gone now as Lance glares at him coldly.

Keith wonders if Lance would ever look at him the same again.

Lance is right. He murdered someone today. He did his best, but his best still got someone killed.

The part that really scares him is that he doesn’t regret it as much as he feels like he should. He walks toward his room, cringing as he turns the corner and sees Shiro standing outside his door.

He should want to see Shiro. He should be thrilled to have him back. But there is a disconnect now, a distance that hadn’t been there before. Something crawled in Keith’s stomach as he walked up to the other man.

“Shiro,” he says as he approaches the door.

“Keith. You need to tell us what happened during the mission.”

“Maybe later. I want to sleep.”

“Why are you avoiding this? Why is Lance so upset with you?”

“It’s nothing,” Keith answers, swallowing back bile as he remembers how coldly Lance looked at him earlier.

“Did one of your decisions get Pidge hurt?”

Keith feels anger rise in his stomach. He is trying really hard and thought Shiro’s return would relieve him of leadership duties he doesn’t even want. However, unbelievably, the black lion still wants Keith. Shiro’s return seems to trigger a never-ending string of criticism and comparison. He knows that the team wants Shiro back at the helm. He knows that Shiro just wants Keith to be a better leader, wants what is best for him.

Knowing doesn’t stop the growing ball of resentment Keith feels for the situation. It doesn’t relieve the pressure that weighs him down every day now.

“Goodnight Shiro,” Keith says, pushing past him to enter his room, trying not to say something out of anger.

Shiro grabs his arm.

“Keith, if you endangered Pidge with your actions then we need to know because this calls into question your ability to lead this team.”

Keith rips his arm away.

“Missions are dangerous. People get hurt sometimes. Stop blaming me. And if you want to call into question my ability to lead, maybe take that up with the black lion.”

He walks away, leaving Shiro in the hallway.

The castle suddenly feels claustrophobic though and Keith needs to get out. He mourns the days where he could just jump on his hover-bike and fly around the desert when he needed some alone time.

He picks up his tablet, shooting off a quick text message.

K: Hey, want to get together for that drink?

He hasn’t even reached the pod ship before he hears a response.

L: Sure. Meet me at the location I just sent to your GPS?

K: Be there in a few

The coordinates sent to him take him to a huge, lavish alien hotel. The outside is grand, like one of the glittering Vegas hotels Keith had seen once upon a time. He even wishes he had worn something nicer, cringing as an actual doorman opens the door for him. Not that he has formal wear handy, of course. He steps into a big lobby area where there is a bar, but also an area with tables. Almost immediately, he sees a large purple figure waving him down.

A few months ago, Keith would have laughed in your face if you told him that not only did Zarkon have a son, but that Keith would be friends with this son.

After a rough start between them, Lotor had reached out to form an alliance with Voltron. He claimed to hate his father’s message. He claimed to work against the witch, Haggar. His words had initially been met with disbelief, for the most part, but he had always come through for Voltron. He had helped them with supplies and information. He spoke at length about his hatred of his father’s colonizing, violent ways. He spoke passionately in favor of the cause of mixed-species aliens and seemed disgusted at the idea of keeping slaves.

They knew from outside sources that he had been exiled for some time before Zarkon’s coma so, slowly, surely, they opened up to him.

Shiro became one of Lotor’s surprisingly passionate advocates. Shiro detailed memories he had of Lotor and the arena that confirmed Lotor to be at odds with his dad and the goals of the Galra.

Keith distrusted him initially, but also could never deny feeling a special connection to him right from the beginning. They bond over being mixed-species of course, but Lotor is also surprisingly easy to talk to. Keith also admires Lotor’s leadership abilities and the repertoire he established with his generals.    

Keith finds himself texting Lotor more and more frequently just to talk. Over time, Lotor somehow slips into the space in Keith’s life left behind by whatever distance had grown between him and Shiro.  

The tall prince smiles at Keith as he approaches.

“Keith, I am glad you contacted me.” He runs a hand through his long hair and Keith frowns even as he tries not to look. “Do you want to come up to my floor?”

“Your what now?”

“We have set up a temporary base here so I rented out a floor. We could have some more privacy there.”

Keith shifts his weight. Though he is almost there for trusting Lotor completely, there is something in the request that feels like it is crossing a line of sorts.

“I am not inviting you to my bedroom, of course. I have an entire floor with a dining area and offices.”

The tablet in his hand vibrates. Keith can see a notification from “Lancey Lance.” He slips the device back into one of his packs without reading it.  

“Sure, let’s go.”

Moments later he is sitting with Lotor in a grand dining room. Lotor’s floor is basically like another lobby except closed off to the public and at least 50 floors off the ground. Keith nods at some of the generals as they walk by the dining area. There are others he doesn’t recognize gathered around a big computer in a lobby area immediately before the dining area. Keith wonders if Lotor is even paying for this, or if being Zarkon’s son is enough to secure a space like this.  

“So, what do you want to talk about?”

“Nothing. I mean, nothing in particular.”

“Keith, I am not blind. I can see you are upset.”

Keith fidgets, poking at the small dish of hors d'oeuvres a small galra wearing an apron had brought to him and Lotor. He wants to tell someone about what happened. He wants someone to tell him he made the right choice, that Lance’s hate is unwarranted, that Shiro should give him a break.

But there is still a vague idea that he shouldn’t entirely trust Lotor and that this is a family dispute, something to be worked out within Voltron.  

“There was a mission…” he begins. Lotor sets his silverware down, eyes focused on his face.

“I had to make a tough decision and Lance disagrees with it.”

Even as the words leave his mouth, he feels silly. He knows how Lotor leads. Lotor effortlessly maintains control. There is no question that he is the leader and his entire team accepts it. He winces at how inexperienced he sounds, at how obvious it must seem that he doesn’t have control of his team.

“You are going to have to give me a bit more than that. Surely it isn’t the first disagreement you have had?”

“It was a tough decision because I…I had to sacrifice another alien’s life to save one of our own.”

Lotor raises his eyebrows.

“So, it came down to your comrade, or this other alien’s life?”

“Yes.”

“Then what is the issue?”

Keith crosses his arms. In front of Lotor, the issue seems simple.

“Someone’s life is over because of me.”

Lotor laughs, a short sound harsh sound.

“Not knowing the exact details, I am assuming you didn’t murder this alien for pleasure or fun?”

“Of course not…”

“Keith, are you aware of what war is?”

“Of course I know what war is.” Keith bristles at Lotor talking down to him.  

“So you know that sometimes people die in wars. Even innocent people. There are sacrifices that have to be made.”

“But someone else could have probably saved everyone.”

“No one can save everyone. That is a childish idea, one that you would see in a kid’s book rather than real life. You aren’t a child anymore, Keith.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Did you protect your family on this mission?”

“Yes.”

“The green paladin, your Pidge, is a remarkable individual. I would love to have her on my team, not that she would ever come. Her genius rivals any of ours and, furthermore, she was chosen by the most powerful weapon in the universe to save that same universe.”

“I know all that.”

“Yet you still wonder if you should have risked her life instead of a random alien’s? You still question the value of her existence?”

“No, but…all lives are valuable.”

Lotor laughs again.

“Another childish idea. On some philosophical level, sure, all life has value. We don’t live in philosophy though. Would you kill yourself trying to save an ant’s life?”

“That isn’t a good comparison.”

“It isn’t, but I think you agree with me anyway. I would wager that you made your decision without a second thought and only started to regret it because of Lance.”

Keith looks down at his plate, poking at something red and slimy with his fork.  

“You really care about Lance’s opinion, don’t you?”

“Of course, he is my…” Keith struggles for language here. Friend feels too mild. Confidante feels too formal. Right hand man feels the best, but still didn’t quite capture what Lance meant to him.

Lotor smiles at him knowingly. “Of course you value his opinion, but ultimately he isn’t the leader of Voltron for a reason.”

Keith blinks.

“The lions are sentient and can see deep into your souls and psyches. There is a reason the black lion responded to you and not them. The black lion respects strength, decisiveness, power, not softness and sentiment.”

“But, Shiro…”

“Do you think Shiro has never killed anyone?”

Keith freezes. Of course, he knew on some level that Shiro had been in the arena and the arena isn’t a nice place. It is likely his hands are just as bloody as Keith’s, if not more.

“Do you think Shiro wouldn’t kill to save your life or Pidge’s? Do you think his decision would have been different?”

Keith processes as quickly as possible. The ultimate answer is no. If it came down to his life or Pidge’s life versus a random stranger’s, he does think Shiro would choose them. He squirms.

“Shiro is kind though.”

“And maybe that is why the black lion decided to switch paladins.”

Keith feels anger brewing. He grips the end of the table.

“Don’t talk about him like that.”

“I am only speaking the truth. And it isn’t an insult. There is a place in this world for emotions, sentiment, feelings. The world needs its Lances. But, the one who leads Voltron will need to make hard decisions sometimes, the decisions that others cannot make. It is the nature of being a leader. And the black lion has chosen you, has she not?”

“Well, maybe the black lion has crappy judgment. She did choose your dad too…”

Lotor smiles softly.

 “She did. And look what my father accomplished?”

Keith reflexively grabs for his blade at the words.

Lotor’s eyes flicker at the movement and he smirks. “Calm down. Of course, I am not saying my dear old dad is a good person. He is terrible, a horrible monster. But, can you deny that he was a great leader? That he was powerful? That he brought an entire universe to its knees? The black lion responds to power and strength of will above all else. My father. Shiro, who is a great man and became so popular in the arena that he nearly incited a rebellion against Zarkon. He is the only champion to have accomplished that.”

Lotor leans closer to Keith.  

“And you. She has chosen you above either of them. Tell me, did she reject you when you flew her back to the castle after this mission?”

Keith averts his eyes.

“No.”

“Do you think she is going to reject you?”

“No. In fact, I have been feeling more connected to Black lately.”  

Lotor grins.

“If you ask me, I don’t think your problem is actually being worried about your decision or even that alien’s life. Are you perhaps worried that you aren’t more upset about taking a life? Do you feel like you should be crying right now, regretting your decision, wringing your hands like I imagine Lance is doing right now?”

“It is what a good person would be doing.”

“Good is a relative term. You saved the life of someone you consider family. You protected your own. You quite possibly could have saved the universe with your choice. Think how many lives Pidge and Voltron will save, free, or otherwise touch from here on out. The black lion does not regret her choice, Keith. She revels in having someone like you commanding her.”

Lotor leans even further forward, brushing a strand of hair out of Keith’s face.

Keith lets out a loud, breathy sigh. He doesn’t really believe the words, but it feels good to hear someone support him. He feels like the rest of the team only has shaky confidence in his abilities as a leader, Lance excluded, but now he doesn’t even have Lance.

Lotor snaps his fingers and the same aproned galra appears with a carafe of dark red liquid and two wine glasses.

“I think you know you made the right choice. I am not trying to tell you that it was an easy choice or that things will be easier from here on out. Heavy is the head, right? Give yourself a break though. Will you drink with me?”

Keith looks down at the liquid.

“What is it?”

“Ether.”

Keith is familiar with the word, but unfamiliar with what it could mean for the liquid in front of him.

“Is it alcohol?”

“Yes, it would be your equivalent of alcohol. Drink with me, paladin. Let loose and celebrate. You have won a hard victory and deserve it. Treat yourself just for tonight.”

Keith swirls the liquid around in his glass a few times, making eye contact with Lotor. Lotor smiles at him and then tilts his own glass back, smoothly swallowing the contents.

Keith ignores the buzzing tablet in his pack and tilts his own glass, downing the dark red substance in an instant.

 

*********

Keith opens his eyes slowly, blinking. He has no idea where he is. He is on the ground looking up at a ceiling that seems vaguely familiar. The floor is cold on his bare back because apparently somewhere along the way he lost his jacket and shirt. He realizes with a start that he is in the black lion. He groans and tries to sit up, frowning as he realizes he can’t because something is pinning him down. His tablet is next to him and shows 127 missed messages. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, he tries to sit up again, pushing at the weight on his abdomen.

He gasps as he realizes that the “weight” is Lotor himself, sprawled across him asleep.

“Oh my god,” Keith whispers into the silence of the lion.  


	2. The Touch of Your Hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith makes some new friends and Galran foreplay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this is a big, hot ass mess of a chapter, but they bang in Chapter 3 so I hope everyone sticks around :p

There is a brief moment that Keith thinks he will get away with it. 

He doesn’t want anyone to know he got drunk and possibly fooled around with Lotor in the black lion. He imagines being able to sneak Lotor out a back door somehow and then pretending like he just took a quick flight in a pod and then slept in the lion by himself.

He quickly shakes Lotor awake, ignoring his surprisingly gentle smile when he wakes.  

“Good morning, you,” Lotor says, running his hand down Keith’s arm.

Keith looks at the hand and swallows hard.  

“Did we…”

Lotor stares at him.

“Uhm…you know.”

“Get in trouble last night? No, but you did become a legend at Elfie’s though.”

“Elfies…what?”

Lotor smirks. “You don’t remember?”

Keith fights down the sneaking panic in his stomach. “We don’t have time for this. Shiro…Allura…Lance…oh god they are all going to kill me. You have to go.”

Standing up, Keith is relieved to discover that he is wearing pants. Dragging Lotor out of the lion, he peaks his head around the corner, wondering if he can get the prince into a pod ship before anyone sees.

A throat clears behind them, dashing all of Keith’s hopes.

He turns to see Hunk, holding a piece of machinery. Keith can’t quite read the look on Hunk’s face.

“Hi guys. We already saw security footage of you guys sneaking in last night. Looks like you had a good time?”

Lotor takes a step forward immediately.

“A great time! My generals and I showed Keith around some of our favorite spots to relax around the area. We should all go as a group some time. I think it would be great fun!” Lotor straightens up, instantly turning on the diplomat that Keith suspects is always lurking just beneath the surface. “I should probably greet Princess Allura at the very least…”

“Everyone should be in the dining room right now.”

“I will go say hello and apologize for the uncouth way that I have entered your ship.”

Lotor seems unbothered, relaxed, at ease. It sets Keith even more on edge as they walk to the dining area.

There are a range of emotions across the faces he sees there. Hunk has a kind look on his face. Lance is carefully not looking directly at Keith, obviously trying to keep his face neutral. Allura has switched on her own diplomat and has a neutrally pleasant look on her face, focused on greeting Lotor.

And Shiro.

Keith’s heart races. Shiro is looking at him hard, trying to catch his eye which Keith expertly avoids. He keeps his eyes trained carefully on Allura and Coran.

 No one seems particularly happy, but Lotor is laying on the charms.

“I apologize for our state when we came to the castle last night. It is my fault, truly. I was unaware that Ether would be so potent for humans.”

“You gave him Ether? We are lucky he is conscious right now then,” Allura laughs.  

Lotor smiles. “I was trying to get him home safely, but probably drank a bit too much myself. I am truly sorry for any trouble we may have caused. I will take my leave now and allow you to…”

“Or you could stay for a while.” Keith’s head snaps toward Shiro, surprised at his words.

Allura side eyes Shiro as well.  

“We haven’t sat down and strategized in a long time. Perhaps we could have an information session?”

“That sounds perfect, but I must get back to my ship for a time if for no other reason than to freshen up and check in with my generals. Perhaps I could come for dinner tonight?”

“Perfect,” Allura responds.

Keith is given the job of walking Lotor out which he does quickly, practically shoving Lotor into a pod ship even when it is clear that Lotor wants to linger and talk.

Then he returns to the dining area, bracing himself in preparation for what everyone would say now that Lotor is gone. There is a moment of silence before everyone starts to talk at once.

“How is Pidge?” Keith asks.

“What were you thinking?” Allura hisses at Shiro.

“No more drunk flying, Keith. You guys damaged the ship when you landed,” Hunk says.

Lance remains uncharacteristically quiet, still carefully avoiding eye contact.

Shiro sighs, rubbing the back of his neck before speaking.  

“Pidge is fine. She isn’t out yet, but Coran says her vitals look great and she is healing just as expected. Allura, I know you don’t entirely trust Lotor yet, but he is technically our ally and always has information for us. We need to check up on his side of things, for better or worse. And finally, Keith…”

Keith cringes on the inside.  

“I think you already know that your behavior is not becoming of a paladin. I get it, Keith, but you need to tell us where you are going when you leave. You were also so drunk that you damaged the castle. You also let Lotor in one of the lions. I know he is our ally now, but you need to respect the lions.  You need to be careful and you need to communicate with your team.”

Keith nods and gets ready to bolt, actually thinking he got off easy.

“And,” Shiro continues. “For punishment, you will repair the damages you caused to the castle, today.”

“I can…” Hunk starts.

“By yourself. You will repair the castle today by yourself,” Shiro cuts him off.

“I’m sorry. It won’t happen again and of course I will repair the castle.”

Keith excuses himself, planning to grab a shirt and then make his way to where they apparently damaged the castle.  

Someone follows him though and Keith senses that it is Lance before he even speaks.  

“Listen, I know. Ok. I messed up.”

“You don’t know though. Keith, you let him in the black lion, are you crazy? Did you literally go crazy at some point and none of us noticed?”

“I don’t remember most of the night…I don’t even remember why we came back here.”

“I…we were worried about you and then the footage showed you two stumbling around like morons. You bothered Shiro in his room and then you took him straight up into the black lion. What were you thinking? What if he had killed us all while we slept?”

“We bothered Shiro?”

 “That isn’t important. Like, you brought the Prince of the Galran Empire into our home.”

“He is our ally.”

“He is but you can’t change what he is and that is Zarkon’s son.”

“I know. I drank too much. I have no idea what happened for most of the night. It won’t happen again.”

There are other things he wants to say here.

_I’m not a leader._

_I am scared sometimes._

_I thought I was going to have to watch Pidge die in my arms._

But he feels off-kilter and Lance’s face is anything but inviting a heart-to-heart right now. They walk in silence for a few steps before Lance speaks again.  

“I can’t believe you exposed one of our lions to him.”

Keith gets over his moment of softness and leans back into the defiance that feels more like home.

“I don’t know why you are so upset about that. Did you not do the same exact thing with Nyma?”

“Oh so you admit it?”

“Admit what?”

“That you think Lotor is hot.”

Keith stops walking abruptly.

“What?”

“You think he is hot.”

“How did you even get there from…”

“I didn’t let Nyma in Blue for no reason. I let her in because she is hot and I wanted to impress her. Are you saying you did the same for Lotor?”

“No…”

“Then you let him in the lion for a different reason?”

“No…”

“So you do think he is hot.”

“Oh my god, Lance, stop. What exactly are you mad about right now?”  

“Did you sleep with him?”

“I did not, but it is no one’s business who I sleep with anyway.” 

“It is everyone’s business if you are screwing Zarkon’s son in the lions.”

“His name is Lotor and I don’t know what you want from me.”

“Why would he even be interested in you?”

“Excuse me?”

“Why would Lotor be interested in you, Keith? Why would he want _you_? Come on. There has to be an ulterior motive.”

For the most part, Keith genuinely does not care what other people think of him and never has. Shiro is one of the only exceptions, and even then Keith makes few apologies for who he is.  

Out of all the arrows Lance’s volleys at him in the course of their friendship, the serious first jabs that turn into teasing and even something like affection, none really hit the mark. He doesn’t care if Lance thinks he is a dropout or a hot head or that his hair is bad. He just doesn’t.

Normally, he would not give a shit about what Lance is implying, but for some reason, now of all times, the arrow hits its mark.

Maybe it is because Pidge is still in a healing pod somewhere stiller than she should ever be or maybe he is going soft after spending so much time as a part of the Voltron family, but Lance’s comment honest to god hurts his feelings.

He clamps down on those emotions as soon as he feels them, but something must have shown on his face because Lance’s eyes widen immediately.

“No, no no no. I didn’t mean it like that. You know I didn’t. I just meant someone like Lotor isn’t looking for dates with random boys from Earth and…”

“and especially boys like me? Like, who would want me, right?”

Keith can’t stop himself. It is ridiculous and petty on a level that is foreign to him. They quite literally have everything else in the world to worry about and his feelings are hurt because Lance had, not for the first time mind you, implied he is undatable.   

“Keith…” Lance reaches out for his arm.

“Lance!” A voice behind them makes them both jump. They turn to see Shiro. “Keith has something to do now. You guys can bicker later.”

Lance looks like he wants to keep talking, but Shiro grabs Keith’s arm and leads him away firmly. In his hands, he has what looks like spackling paste.

The damage the pod made isn’t that bad. It looks like they scraped the wall a bit when they landed. Keith is relieved that he can spackle and paint over the damage.

“Have fun,” Shiro says, watching as Keith begins mixing the spackling paste.

“Shiro.” Keith isn’t even entirely sure what he wants to say.

“Look, you aren’t the only person in the world that has gone out and drank a bit too much after a hard day. Yes you should have done things differently, but it doesn’t make any of us respect you less as a person.”

“Except Lance…”

“You know that isn’t true. He is probably just upset you did it without him.”

He begins to walk out of the room before pausing and turning back around.

“And Keith? I think it is good that you are spending time with Lotor.”

Keith stops mixing, surprised at his words. “Really?”

“Yes. I think you could learn a lot from him and he is a great ally to keep close.”

Keith nods firmly and then watches Shiro walk out of the room.    

In the process of fixing the castle, he also finally gets a chance to look through his tablet with the unread messages. Most of them are Lance cycling through emotions at a breakneck speed. First, anger (Running away from your problems again, Keith?) to apologetic (Look, man, we both said things we didn’t mean) to concern (Where are you? You shouldn’t be out there alone) back to anger (Ignoring me? Fine, see if I care, asshole) to sadness (I am so used to being ignored by people in my life by now that it doesn’t even matter do your best) back to concern (You have been gone for a long time-please message us? We are worried). He doesn’t read all of them, only scrolling through the highlights.

Once he has scrolled through Lance’s messages, he sees a strange invite to a group chat that Keith doesn’t recognize with the title “The L Squad”

He accepts and is immediately greeted by a picture of Narti’s cat sleeping on his jacket.

Keith: My jacket…

Narti: It’s Kova’s jacket now!

Zethrid: Hell yeah

Ezor: Yay, K Dawg is here!

Keith: K Dawg…

Ezor: You told us it was your rap name

Keith: Oh god

Narti: I was kidding about the jacket. We will send it with L when he visits you next

Keith: What happened last night?

Acxa: Maybe you shouldn’t have drank so much if you can’t remember

Narti: Just ignore her she is mad because she lost the coin toss and had to babysit us

Narti: Come on, next time I will do it. Kova doesn’t like when I drink anyway

Zethrid: I will never offer to be the babysitter

Keith: Ok, but what happened?

A picture pops up again. Keith is wearing his jacket, but without a shirt on underneath. He is holding a mic. Keith cringes.

Keith: Aliens have karaoke?

Narti: Everyone has karaoke! And you, my friend, serenaded the entire room

Another picture pops up. He is on a table this time, jacket gone. Zethrid and him are dancing, her behind him, laughing as Keith tries to be sexy. Lotor is cracking up in the background with a sour looking Acxa beside him.  

Acxa: This is right before you two broke one of the tables and I had to herd everyone out

Zethrid: Maybe the table should have been less of a little bitch

A final picture is sent. It is Narti holding Hova up in the classic Lion King stance while standing on some rock Keith doesn’t recognize.  

Narti: You told us this was from a movie

Ezor: You said there were kitties in it! And puppies!

Zethrid: And someone dies in it!

Acxa: You talked it up so much Lotor pulled me off my normal patrol to try to find a copy of it

Keith groans, wondering what recesses of his brain had made him suggest watching _The Lion King_ with Lotor and his generals, remembering Lotor’s words from before about not being a child anymore.

Keith: We…we don’t have to watch it

Narti: Don’t try to get away now. You are one of us and we will be watching your Earth movie

Zethrid: One of us, one of us

Acxa: L just told us he will be visiting you guys tonight. Try not to keep him too late tonight.

Keith assures Acxa that there will not be a repeat of last night before putting the tablet away and focusing on painting the hangar wall.

That night, they eat a fairly awkward dinner with Lotor after he arrives before Shiro, Allura, and Lotor wander off to talk. Allura and Lotor want to talk about diplomatic aspects of their current situation and, thankfully, Keith isn’t expected to be an expert on that. He knows he should go with them, but manages to convince himself that Allura and Shiro are the diplomats here, not him.

With his free time, he briefly visits Pidge before finding himself back at the training deck. It feels like so long since he had last trained here. It feels comfortable and familiar.

He easily handles a few levels of guardians before deciding he needs a challenge. He calls a level that is almost too high for him by himself. He wants a challenge and a challenge he gets, barely defeating the guardians. All of his attention is focused on barely avoiding injury. When he finally slashes the last one, he hears clapping behind him. He turns to see Lotor standing at the door.  

“Impressive, Keith.”

Keith shrugs, using his shirt to wipe sweat off his face.

Lotor walks over.

“You seem tense”

“Aren’t I always?”

“Tenser than usual.”

“It has been a bad few days.”

“Do you want to spar?”

Keith pauses. It has been awhile since he sparred with anyone. He hasn’t even sparred with Shiro lately despite Shiro being the only one on the team who can best him in hand-to-hand combat.  

“Sure.”

“Hand-to-hand. No weapons.”

Keith casts aside his bayard.

They move to a mat and circle each other slowly. Lotor’s movements are careful and controlled. He seems relaxed, a smile still on his lips, but Keith isn’t fooled into a false sense of security. Everything about Lotor screams that he is dangerous.

They dance around each other for a while, only briefly feeling each other out, clashing with fists or pulling at each other, but neither making a move that would make either of them vulnerable to attack.

Keith feels uncharacteristically hesitant to do anything more.  

“Keith…You are holding back. Come on. Show me what you got.”

Part of him knows he is making a mistake, but he lunges anyway, running straight at Lotor. Lotor steps backward, blocking his blows, carefully watching as Keith punches from the right, but then quickly swings his hips, kicking sharply where Lotor has turned his head. He doesn’t expect it to work as well as it does and cringes internally as his foot connects with Lotor’s face.

He stops immediately, backing off.

“Oh shit, I’m…”

“Why did you stop?” Lotor wipes some blood off his brow. The kick had split the skin just above his eyebrow. “You had me off-balance and hurt. You will regret not taking that opportunity, black paladin.”

Lotor is smirking now, in his element, and not holding back any longer even as a fairly steady stream of blood drips down his face. He approaches Keith, landing blows that Keith can mostly block, but that hurt like hell. Keith has zero opportunities to attack back.

Lotor eventually stops punching at him, gripping at his arms instead, getting close to Keith’s body while attempting to swipe his feet out from under him. Keith plants himself, fighting against the greater strength of the man who is infuriatingly taller than him. He feels small next to Lotor, but small and agile have their benefits. While Lotor is focusing on trying to unbalance Keith by hip checking him, he drops his head and shoulders, trying to gain more leverage. Keith immediately kicks his knee upward, catching Lotor directly beneath the chin. The two men are so close that Keith can hear Lotor’s teeth clang together. Blood starts dripping out of the prince’s mouth. He spits to the side and looks back at Keith, eyes glinting.

They grapple for a minute or two longer when Lotor, unexpectedly, lets him go. Keith stumbles backwards, realizing that the prince has used his own body mass and momentum against him. Before he can react, he feels Lotor gripping his wrist and jerking him forward forcefully. Keith no longer has the firm stance he had before, dropping one arm to try to regain his sense of balance and using the other to grip onto Lotor’s arm to regain leverage. He focuses on not letting his legs get swiped, assuming Lotor is still trying to get him down on the ground. In hindsight, this is an unfortunate choice that leaves his head wide open. He doesn’t even see the fist coming.

Keith is suddenly back at his shack, curled up on his bed. It is a common misconception that deserts are always hot. During the day, yes. But deserts often get cold at night. The lack of clouds and vegetation means that heat doesn’t linger, but rather leaves as soon as the sun goes down. During the day, Keith searches and works and worries. After the sun goes down and the chill sets in, he allows himself to curl up like he is now. His one light blanket covers him and he likes keeping the window open at night. It is cool and quiet and peaceful. Keith feels safe bundled in his bed, knowing the great expanse of the desert surrounds him. He feels calm and relaxes into the silent cocoon of the atmosphere around him.  

Suddenly, he feels a weight on top of him, someone crawling on him. He panics because who would be in his shack, who would be disturbing him right now?

“Keith,” he hears a voice.

A purple face slowly starts to come into focus.

“Keith…yield.”

He realizes he isn’t and never was in the shack. He is on his back in the training deck with Lotor straddling him, pinning his shoulders to the mat. His vision is blurry and he is nauseous.

But he doesn’t want to yield.

He won’t.

He snarls at Lotor, bucking his hips and trying to crawl backward.

“It’s over…yield,” Lotor repeats, drawing a hand back and punching him the face.  Keith shakes his head and Lotor punches him again. Keith can’t quite get ahold of himself to block it, but he does take the freedom his shoulders and arms now have to push Lotor, managing to get a knee between them. He squirms for all he is worth away from him.

 _If I can just get away from him, if I can only get some space,_ Keith thinks.

He finds himself on his stomach, desperately trying to crawl before feeling Lotor’s body pressing against his back, pinning him to the mat again. Lotor places a hand on his throat and Keith is unable to move.

“Yield.”

Keith squirms for a few more moments before realizing that he is absolutely stuck. Lotor’s hand is slowly tightening. He can still breathe, but it is getting harder. He can’t move an inch, even using all of his remaining strength, and his lungs and muscles are screaming.

“I yield,” he finally chokes out.

Lotor relaxes and moves his hand. Neither moves for a moment. Keith feels Lotor’s breath on the back of his neck, his body rubbing against his back. A tingling feeling creeps up his spine before he feels sudden pain exploding on the back of his neck as teeth dig into him.

Keith immediately goes limp, relaxing into the mat, boneless and numb except for the feeling of the teeth in his neck. It takes another few seconds for him to come back to himself, to push against the man on top of him.

“Did…did you just bite me you sick freak?” He finally speaks.

Lotor licks the bite mark, causing Keith to shudder.  

“Sorry, I lost myself for a moment…”

“What does that even mean?” And finally, finally Lotor is easing off of him.

Keith’s vision is still blurry and he needs help standing. It feels like his brain is pressing against the confines of his skull. Everything is out of equilibrium.

There is a gasp behind them. Keith turns and looks, trying desperately not to throw up as he does.

Lance and Hunk are standing there, gaping at them. He wonders what their issue is for a moment before looking down. There are blood smears on the mat and even a small clump of Lotor’s hair. Both of them look like a mess. _Oh,_ Keith thinks.

Lance’s face goes blank and Keith watches in horror as he draws his bayard, forming his rifle and pointing it at Lotor’s face.

“Lancth…” Keith cries out, wincing at his slurred words. “We…just….sparring,” he spits out.

Lance flicks his eyes toward Keith, a strange look on his face. Lotor wraps an arm around Keith’s waist, pulling him closer.  

“Yes, we were sparring and it just went a bit too far.” As Lotor says the word far, some blood dribbles out of his mouth.

For some reason, it is funny, and Keith laughs. It is horrible and he thinks his head is splitting open, but he can’t stop, not even when Hunk takes him to the medical bay and shines a light in his eyes, not even when he is shoved into a secondary pod to heal what Hunk will later call a concussion. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lotor's fangs in the show has my biting fetish out in full force.


	3. I Want Your Leather Studded Kiss in the Sand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Voltron teams up with Lotor and Lotor gets Keith a special gift.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to get a new chapter out. It has been really stressful at work. Also, Chapter 3 became monstrously long (like, over double the length of the other chapters) so I broke it in two and now we have 5 chapters instead of 4. 
> 
> The next chapter already has a rough draft so I am going to get that up in a few days. Then, the final chapter before October. 
> 
> Thank you for reading and commenting. It motivates me and makes me happy even when I am stressed out by everything happening in my "real" life lol.

_You are supposed to be the good guys._

The words circle around in Keith’s head and he rolls them around on the tip of his tongue for hours after the fact.

They are there even when he takes his shower, when he talks to Shiro to decompress, when he puts on his armor again because there is a celebration to attend for the liberation of some random galaxy none of them had heard of before the mission.

Some powerful Galra had garnered enough support to make a claim to the throne of the Galran Empire. He had gathered his own army of Galra and some alien allies, seized an entire galaxy as a base, and claimed to be the true heir to Zarkon’s throne.

Lotor had been at the center of gathering information about the enemy.

It is their first time fighting alongside Lotor and his team. The team had been divided over whether to fight with Lotor. Lance argued vehemently against it.  But, he was outvoted for one main reason. This new Galra general was so blood-thirsty he made Zarkon seem like a dream. He needed to be stopped immediately, but they would need help to do it since they could still not form Voltron.

Pidge was out of the healing pod, but the damage to her body was extensive enough that she needed more time to rest and heal.

In the end, they needed Lotor’s help and this general needed to be stopped immediately before gaining more power. The choice was easy, in Keith’s eyes.   

Keith’s chest swells with pride when he thinks about how undaunted Pidge seems by her near death experience. She didn’t take kindly to sitting out of the mission, but accepted the decision especially when Green said no way. Then, she bluntly told Shiro to back off when Shiro told her to sit this one out completely and rest. Rather, she parked herself in the control room, helping guide them through the mission and occasionally doing techy stuff for them. Keith cannot imagine not having Pidge on his team.

Except for Pidge only being there over the communicator and not in Green, everything else felt right. He had his team by his side. Lotor’s team meshed impeccably with theirs. They were skilled and professional. Though he didn’t know them as well as his own team, Keith trusted them without reservation.  

Lotor and him had even fought back-to-back, taking out a huge room of bots and Galra alike, the robots and living beings blurring together in Keith’s mind as he hacked his way through the room with Lotor’s presence at his back.

It is a successful mission. They had crushed the opposite side. Keith would have no questions if not for the last room of the base at the heart of the galaxy.

There, Keith found the Galran general bleeding to death and heard his last haunting words.  

_You are supposed to be the good guys._

They are not the words of a blood-thirsty monster. He can’t imagine Zarkon saying something like that before his death. But Keith himself had seen the proof, the evidence, the data and even pictures.

Keith feels uneasy as he makes his way up to Lotor’s floor. Lotor had asked him to come before the celebration for a quick word so Keith had waved the rest of Team Voltron ahead.  

He arrives to see Lotor and his generals in regular armor, though Lotor has added a cape.

“Keith! Lemme put this in your hair.” Ezor says as she runs over to him.  

In her hand is an ornate silver piece of jewelry. It is definitely a purple flower, but vaguely shaped to look like the Galran symbol. Three jeweled strands hang down.  

“Absolutely not.”

“Awwww, come on,” Ezor whines. 

“It is a celebratory item that we wear after a successful battle,” Acxa says. Keith notices that they all are wearing a version of it, including even Narti who has it fixed to her hood.

“Well, is _Lotor_ wearing…” he cuts off mid-sentence as Lotor turns his head, showing off the purple item in his hair.

Keith sighs and rolls his eyes. “Fine.” Resigned to his fate, he turns his head to the side.  

Ezor squeals and brushes back one side of his hair to pin the sparkly hair clip in there. It rests just above his ear.

Lotor looks pleased, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“We make a good team, don’t we?”

Keith nods.

“Do we have enough for the rest of the team?” Keith briefly imagines making Shiro wear it and smirks.

“No, we do not, actually. We will have to have more made, of course,” Lotor answers before telling them that it is time to go.  

The celebration itself could have been worse. Galra and many other types of aliens mix in a large mansion of sorts. Keith tries to find his friends when he enters, but Lotor fixes an arm around his waist and tells him that there are many people who would like to meet the Leader of Voltron. This would normally irk him, but Lotor seems to understand his innate dislike for this type of work. He is a flurry of words and empty niceties that allow Keith to be mostly quiet. Keith is introduced and answers a few questions bluntly. No one seems to mind. Most seem to understand that he is a solider, not a diplomat.

He sees the other members of Voltron only in bits and pieces. They speak briefly to Shiro and Allura. He waves at Hunk and Lance from across the room. Pidge did not come, thoroughly exhausted after the mission even just from sitting in the control room during it.  

At one point, Lotor pulls him aside to a balcony. They quietly stare out over the night sky for a few minutes.

_You are supposed to be the good guys._

Keith shakes his head.

Lotor breaks the silence. “Keith, I think the night is drawing to an end. However, there is something I want to ask you. If you say no, then I respect your decision and will never bring it up again.”

Keith nods, apprehension settling into his stomach at the words.

“I think I can find out about your family. Like, who they were and what happened to them.”

Keith straightens up suddenly, not expecting the words.

“I have to admit, before you answer, that I have my suspicions as to the type of story I will find if I dig around and I must warn you that it may not be pleasant. It is up to you though.”

“Do it. I want to know,” Keith answers immediately.

Lotor nods and smiles.

“I thought you would say that. There is probably little you can’t handle in this world, right?”

He brushes his fingers over the hair clip and through Keith’s hair. Keith goes still.

“It is absolutely striking in hair as dark as yours,” Lotor says, twirling his fingers around the longer strands of his hair. “Beautiful,” he murmurs.

For a brief moment, Keith thinks Lotor will kiss him.

The moment is broken when a loud noise distracts them. People are starting to say goodbye and leave. Keith’s heart is pounding and he uses that moment to say goodbye to Lotor and try to find his team. He eventually finds them sitting together in a corner, also ready to head back. Hunk looks exhausted. Allura looks done with diplomatic work forever. Shiro smiles brightly when Keith approaches though.

Keith smiles back before frowning as he looks across the table.  

“Wait. Where is Lance? Don’t tell me he found some alien girl.”

There is a moment of silence.

“He was tired so he headed back to the castle early,” Allura finally says.

“Lance left a party early? Does he need a healing pod? I can’t believe he is missing the chance to make fun of me for wearing this.” Keith points at the hair pin still fastened to his head. There are a few tense smiles.

Allura and Hunk exchange a look that Keith sees, but doesn’t quite understand.

“He was just tired. We should head back. It has been a long day.” Shiro stands up, stretches, and begins to lead the way back to their ship. 

 

*******

 

Keith wakes up the next morning to see a formal invite from Lotor on his tablet for dinner. Everyone is exhausted or planning next steps so Keith does not see the harm in agreeing to meet Lotor for dinner.  

By now, everyone at the hotel where Lotor and his team had made base recognizes Keith. He makes his way directly to Lotor’s floor where he finds Lotor waiting for him in the lobby area.

Lotor’s eyes are sparkling when he greets him.

“I have a present for you. I think you will be happy.”

They enter the dining area where two place settings are set up including two ridiculous silver serving trays with rounded lids that Keith only thought existed in movies. Keith looks apprehensively at the silver serving tray in front of him when he sits. He can’t imagine what Lotor would have that would be considered a present for him.  

Lotor sits beside him. “Why don’t we enjoy?”

He takes the lid off slowly and peeks under. Sitting on a fancy Galran plate is a steak.

A

Juicy

Perfect

Steak

An actual honest to god steak just like his dad would sometimes buy him in Texas, back in the days when his biggest concern was watering the cows each morning.  It looks, in a word, perfect. The outside is a beautiful rustic brown, moist, juicy looking. Keith whimpers, unable to stop himself.

How long has it been since he had a goddamned steak?

“I have done considerable research to procure and prepare this to your liking. I hope it is correct. We do have equivalents to what your species calls a steak, but obviously not the same manner of preparation or animal. If you are not satisfied, then we can try again.”

“Is this an actual beef cow steak like…cow from Earth?”

“Yes. My research told me that there are multiple breeds of beef cow, as you call them. I was debating between the Brahman, the Hereford, or maybe even the Wagyu, but my sources led me to believe that the black Angus is not only tasty, but also the one you were most likely to eat at home. I got one that was raised in a low-stress situation and fattened up on…”

Keith’s head is spinning as the smell hits him, the distinct savory smell of steak, a little iron underneath that indicates that Lotor may have even cooked it correctly. It may seem greedy to hope for a properly cooked steak when any steak is better than none, but now that the carrot has been dangled in front of his face, he cannot help but want it to be perfect, just like his dad would prepare.

He grabs the knife, tuning out Lotor’s voice. Lotor trails off at some point, smiling knowingly. He watches closely as Keith drags the knife across the meat, practically swooning as the inside is a beautiful, rich, red color, the perfect color to indicate a rare steak.

He takes a long, shaky breath, hand shaking just slightly, willing himself to calm down and trying to stop himself from literally just grabbing the meat and eating it like an animal, sinking his fangs into it and shaking his head.

The first bite can be described in no other words but orgasmic. Everything disappears except for the feeling of it in his mouth. He moans and doesn’t even care if Lotor sees or hears him. For the next piece, he drags his tongue across the piece of meat, licking the seasoning on top. Keith wants to bathe in this taste, drown in the aroma and blood-tinged juice.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Lotor staring at him intently.

But there is nothing that matters more to him than this steak right now.

The next bite he keeps in his mouth for a while, swirling it around, sucking gently and reveling in the juices sliding down his throat. He chews slowly, leaning his head back, and then swallows hard.

It takes a few bites before he is able to concentrate enough to look back over to Lotor. Lotor is eating along with him now. He slowly drags a piece of meat off his fork, a flash of his fangs showing as he bites into it, never once breaking eye contact with Keith.

Keith chews, his jaw working, ignoring the juices that run down his chin. He swipes his hand across the dripping juices, then brings one of his fingers to his mouth, licking every drop. He won’t, can’t waste this.

One particularly juicy piece leaves a trail of juice running down his hand like a stream. He licks it up, even when he reaches his gloves. 

Lotor takes a deep breath, idly holding the fork between his teeth, never once looking away as Keith swallows the last piece of steak.

There are a few moments of silence as they regard one another. Keith feels strange, more human than he has in months, maybe longer. The steak settles in his stomach, the taste lingers on his tongue. The prince in front of him is looking at him with an unmistakable heavy and affectionate look in his eyes.

 “Why are you being so nice to me? Getting me gifts and stuff,” Keith asks.

“Do Earthlings not do the same for those that interest them?”

“What does that mean to you? To be interested in someone?”

“It means I like you. I desire you.”

Keith blushes.

“Why?”

“Who wouldn’t want you?”

Keith is silent. He has never really considered himself desirable. Not undesirable really, but also not someone that others seek out for romantic reasons.  

“What do you think I see when I look at you?” Lotor prods.

“Some random earthling?”

Lotor laughs.

“No, I see someone very special. I see someone that I have come to love and respect.” Lotor leans forward and grabs one of Keith’s hands. It isn’t a gentle grab, really. There is pressure there that is one step away from painful.  

“Are my feelings unreciprocated?” Lotor asks. 

Keith is quiet. He isn’t sure he can say he loves Lotor. He likes him. He respects him. He feels like Shiro to Keith, except not. Shiro has always been the slightly older, wiser one, like an older brother. Lotor is older and wiser, but most decidedly not brotherly. Lotor is attractive and he is flattered by the attention. Keith can admit that. He feels flutters in his stomach sometimes when near Lotor. But, does that mean he loves him? Or that he could love him?

Keith isn’t sure he has ever really loved someone in that way. Crushes, sure. Lust, yes. But love?

“Keith. Do you want to come up to my bedroom?”

And Keith knows the implication, knows what going to Lotor’s bedroom means.

“Yes,” he answers finally, staring Lotor down, heart pounding but hoping the other man doesn’t notice.

Lotor grins, not letting go of Keith’s hand even once as they stand and walk toward the grand door at the end of the main hallway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Head Canon-The way to get Keith naked in your bed is to cook him a perfect steak
> 
> Anyway, yikes@me for that cliffhanger right before what I assume most of you are here for. I promise the ENTIRE next chapter is just them banging. It will also be out soon. It is mostly written-I just broke it up because this chapter with the sex was becoming ridiculously long.


	4. I Want Your Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They finally have sex 
> 
> (also please read updated tags)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy this is a HOT ASS MESS featuring Galra as sex gods who self-lube and dicks ribbed for his pleasure
> 
> Also, parts of this drift a bit more dubcon than I thought they would. I have added that tag just to be careful and you can skip this part of the author's note if you don't care but I will briefly summarize the dubcon parts. 
> 
>  
> 
> 1\. Lotor is kind of misleading about the fact that he is giving Keith an aphrodisiac   
> 2\. Keith says stop during one part and Lotor doesn't stop. 
> 
> If either of these really bother you then you may want to drop this.

Keith is already second guessing his decision even as Lotor all but drags him into his bedroom. The bedroom itself is not what Keith expects. He imagines Lotor possibly having some military Galran aesthetic or maybe some gaudy, flashy room with ornate finishes like the space prince he is. However, it is clean and minimalistic, shades of blues and whites for the most part. It looks comfortable though with a big plush bed with pillows and blankets and a comfortable seating area off to the side with big over-sized couches and an entertainment system.

The only aspect of the room that works against the clean and cozy aesthetic are the large mirrors on all the walls surrounding the bed.

“Are you kidding me?” Keith asks as he gestures toward the mirrors.

Lotor smiles and shrugs.

They stand awkwardly for a moment and Keith isn’t sure how to proceed. It isn’t like he hasn’t had hook ups before, but this one is different and he can’t pretend otherwise.  

“Let’s get a little more comfortable?” Lotor says, easing out of his shoes and setting them to the side. Keith does the same and also places his belt on a chair along with his jacket. He keeps his shirt and pants on, thinking this is as comfortable as he wants to be right now.

Lotor then walks over to a strange, narrow dresser that Keith realizes is actually a liquor cabinet of sorts. He rummages around for a moment before pulling out a bottle of purple liquid along with two glasses. Keith eyeballs it suspiciously.

“Keith, this is a drink…”

“No.”

Lotor laughs. “It isn’t ether and not really alcohol either…” Lotor takes Keith’s hand again, easing him over toward the bed where they sit down on the edge.

“Not really?”

“It is a traditional drink that we, the Galra, drink before two of us are intimate. It is a symbol of trust and bonding. I guess you could say it is the equivalent of alcohol on Earth. I mean, you don’t have to drink it though if you are scared of what will happen…”  

Keith snorts at the obvious attempt to bait him.

Lotor pours the drinks anyway, holding the glass out to Keith. 

“Yeah, but what does it do?”

“It will bring us closer together, symbolically.”

Keith looks at the glass, but doesn’t take it.  “That isn’t really an answer. And why do you seem to have so many Galran traditions that the others don’t seem to have?”

Lotor sighs, looking off in the distance. “The militarization of the Galra led to a destruction of some of our customs and traditions. My father has managed to kill our culture in ways that people forget because we are technically winning. On our ship, we try to keep them alive though, to keep the true Galra culture from dying out…” Lotor’s voice trails off.  

Keith sighs and takes the glass. It isn’t a lot of whatever it is, so he brings it to his mouth. It tastes like blueberries. He actually kind of likes it, downing it quickly after the first sip.

Lotor looks extremely pleased, drinking his own glass as well.  

There is a moment where Keith feels strange, like everything is cloudy, like he is wrapped in fuzz. He snaps out of it when Lotor reaches over and takes his glass and then sets both of them on a side table.

“This better not make me forget half of the night like last time, asshole.”

Lotor laughs. “Trust me, Keith. You will not be forgetting a single, solitary moment of this night.”

Then he sits next to Keith again, closer this time.

“Are you ready?” he asks.

Keith snorts and is ready to make some smart ass comment when Lotor’s lips on his own stop him.

It is bizarrely chaste at first. Gentle and almost like a kiss you would give someone who isn’t a sexual partner. A quick kiss to a weird aunt from a different country or something. It isn’t bad though and Keith takes the moment to quell his curiously and run his fingers through Lotor’s hair. It is one of Lotor’s best features, long and silky and soft and somehow not tangled like Keith’s is all the time despite being a lot longer. Lotor leans into the touch and eases an arm around Keith’s shoulders.

Neither of them, at least at first, make the move to progress though, to start taking off the rest of their clothes, to get into the bed. Keith can usually shut off the part of his brain that thinks during these moments, but right now he overthinks. Lotor is obviously interested in more than just a fuck and Keith isn’t sure how he feels about that. He isn’t sure he wants a relationship with Lotor. He isn’t sure he loves him.  

There is only one person ever who has made Keith have the stereotypical butterflies in life. And, that person hadn’t looked at him the same since he revealed the true him during the mission where Pidge was hurt. He had revealed the part of himself that is cold and things between him and Lance had never recovered. _Maybe it is for the best,_ Keith thinks. In many ways, Lotor is a better match for Keith. He had seen Keith at his ugliest and still embraced him, pulled him close, talked like a future working together is a given. Lotor himself probably has dirty hands. Keith is more like Lotor than Lance. Maybe someone like Lance deserves someone else, someone better, someone more pure and kind.

But Keith can’t quite get blue eyes and an easy smile out of his head, feeling like he needs to stop and think and slow down for once, maybe talk to Lance, to Lotor, to Shiro…

It is while these questions circle his mind that something clicks in him. He feels his muscles relax and then blinks in surprise when he realizes that he has started pressing harder against Lotor’s mouth.  Lotor smiles and allows Keith to do it, letting Keith slip his tongue inside his mouth, keeping one firm hand placed on the back of Keith’s head.

When Keith finally pulls back, he is dizzy and hot. And nothing, nothing looks better than Lotor right now.  Everything else disappears in Keith’s mind except for Lotor, smirking at him with a hand still on the back of his head.

“I can tell you are nervous…”

“I’m not,” Keith mumbles.

“and it’s ok. Just relax and let me take care of you.”

Some vague bad feeling pricks at the back of his mind, telling him that something is off, but it doesn’t seem important because now all he can think about is how much he wants to be fucked. It is like he has been sitting on some precipice before slipping backward into an ocean. A warm, softly rocking ocean that engulfs his body and muddles his brain. He closes his eyes and lets himself sink into it, giving into the ebb and flow of desire overwhelming him.  

When he opens them again, Lotor is pulling his shirt off before grabbing at Keith’s. They are both thrown to a corner and forgotten.

Lotor captures his mouth again, nipping at his lips. He drops a hand down Keith’s bare chest, gently trailing down his stomach until he gets to the top of his pants, ghosting his fingers over the button before undoing it.  

The hesitancy that Keith felt before disappears and right now he just needs more contact, more touching. He touches Lotor wherever he can reach, finally settling on rubbing one hand up and down Lotor’s bicep. It is a strange mixture of hard and soft. Skin so smooth he had to use product on it, but muscles that Keith himself knows from experience pack a powerful punch.

Keith likes it. Lotor’s softness and his violence.

The way he can slice his way through a room of enemies and then put a flowery hair pin in his hair in the same day.

The way he can leave Keith needing a healing pod one moment and gently stroke his hair the next.   

Keith’s heart is racing now and he needs, needs, needs. Needs something. Needs the man in front of him. Needs more than soft touches. Their kiss deepens again and there are a few moments where they battle for control before Lotor reaches around and grips Keith’s hair, pulling his head back. Keith whimpers into it, allowing Lotor’s tongue into his mouth, hips already grinding, trying to find some friction.

Lotor pulls away from him a moment later, panting.

“Lay down,” he orders.

“What was in that drink?” Keith asks as he crawls into the bed, barely noticing as Lotor pulls down his pants and boxers as he goes.

Lotor ignores him or maybe doesn’t hear as he pulls down his own pants.

At the moment, Keith doesn’t care. His heart is racing and the desire wracking his body is quickly becoming too much. He lays on his back in the bed and only has a second to get comfortable before Lotor is on him. Keith instinctively grabs at him, rubbing his hands down his back. Lotor leans down into him, kissing him brutally, hard enough that their teeth clang together and Keith even tastes a little blood.  

Normally, especially for a first time, Keith would be a bit more patient or wait for more cues. But, patient and slow are far from Keith’s addled mind right now and he gets straight to the point. He reaches a hand between their bodies and wraps his hand around Lotor’s dick.

He is relieved to discover that Lotor’s dick isn’t entirely unfamiliar being the same general shape that Keith expects from one. However, the texture, for lack of a better word, is different. There are ridges circling around it that remind Keith of some dildos he had seen. It is also really wet and seemingly getting wetter the more he touches it.

“Your…your dick self-lubes?”

Lotor pauses, looking confused.

“Earthlings’ don’t?”

Keith is about to speak further, but Lotor presses his body against him, rubbing against him, grinding into him. Whatever clarity Keith may have held disappears as he moans and squirms underneath Lotor. The direct skin-to-skin contact is exquisite and Keith could almost come just from this.

Almost.  

He won’t ask for it though, and just continues panting, gripping at Lotor’s back.    

Suddenly, Lotor stops, leans back, and flips Keith over onto his stomach easily, hands grabbing a bit too tightly. Keith winces at the bruises he knows he will be nursing tomorrow.

He slips an arm underneath Keith’s stomach and pulls him up onto his hands and knees. Keith trembles, barely able to support his own weight. It feels like he is burning, like the ocean is really a lake of lava instead of water, and he knows there is only one way to stop it.

Lotor runs a hand down his back, obviously checking him out, and then gently smacks the side of his thigh like he is a horse or something.

Keith growls. “Don’t…don’t do that.”

Lotor does it again, laughing quietly.

“If you do that again, I will kill you. I will leave.”

It is an empty threat. Even at this moment, he is wiggling his ass in a way that any other time would have mortified him. But the heat has grown inside him and he wants it. He needs it. He even feels like his ass is wet though he knows that isn’t possible because humans don’t do that.   

“I am just appreciating the view. Your body is exquisite, like a doll’s,” Lotor whispers. Keith edges up onto his knees, twisting around to smack at Lotor, aiming for his butt but only managing to hit his thigh. Lotor only grins at him and twists his arm, shoving him back down to the bed. Keith cringes as he feels his shoulder come very close to dislocating. He whimpers at the pain, relieved when Lotor eases up a moment later.  Keith pushes back up to his hands and knees at the same time as Lotor roughly inserts a finger. Keith cries out, collapsing back onto the bed, unable to keep his arms underneath him.

“Keep your ass up at least,” Lotor whispers as he slips another finger in immediately, too fast, too soon.

“Stop,” Keith chokes out.

“Just give it a moment.”

Keith tries to pull away, but Lotor keeps a firm hand between his shoulder blades, keeping him in place.

And Lotor is right. It only takes a minute or two for the sharp pain to fade into something bearable and then even pleasant. Keith sighs with shaky relief as the burning inside him fades for a moment.   

“Who said you were topping anyway?” Keith asks.  

“You are the one ass up in my bed right now,” Lotor laughs.  He lightly slaps the side of Keith’s ass again. Keith pulls away again, ready to continue this fight when Lotor hooks his fingers inside Keith, making Keith freeze. Streaks of pain and pleasure cascade over his body and he isn’t sure if he wants to cry or moan.  

Even with the weird wetness that Keith knows isn’t possible, Lotor is moving too fast. It hurts, a lot, and is somehow simultaneously the best thing he has ever felt. He winces at the intrusion at the same time as pushes back against the fingers for more friction.

Another finger is added and all Keith can do is pant and grind. It is a tease and he feels like Lotor knows exactly what he is doing. He needs more though and every passing second makes him needier. All he can think about is getting something more inside of him, of coming, of finding relief. Lotor continues to tease, making Keith feel good without quite hitting what Keith needs, edging him without moving toward relief.

“Just…do it…” he finally says, hating himself but possibly hating Lotor more.

“Do what, black paladin?” Lotor responds innocently.

“Just do it. Fuck me.”

“Why don’t you ask me nicely?”

And Keith is furious because this is bullshit, but his pride is quickly slipping away as his insides clench with a heat he knows won’t be satisfied by a finger or touching.

“Please…Please fuck me, you bastard.”  

Lotor pulls his fingers out with a savage twist and Keith stifles a cry of pain. He aches, it hurts, and he is so, so hot.

There are a few moments where nothing happens at all and Keith feels like crying.

“Please, Lotor, I want you to fuck me.”  

He hears Lotor make a pleased noise behind him. “You have no idea how long I have been waiting for this. How many nights I imagined you just like this, in my bed, begging for my dick.”

And finally he feels something very large pressing against him. He tries to slow his breathing and relax. Lotor is by far the biggest he has ever been with and Keith prays the self-lube is enough.

He isn’t given much chance to worry about it because Lotor isn’t patient either. He forces past any resistance, sliding in with a savage thrust or two.

It is pandemonium after this, Lotor pounding him hard, Keith may be screaming but he can’t even tell for sure. It is so much at once that Keith can’t even really feel what is happening except for blind, overwhelming pleasure and pain. He is coming before he even realizes it. A moment later, he feels an unmistakable warmth spreading inside his body. It is over fast and Keith relaxes into the bed, wondering if all that lead up had been for just two or three minutes of sex.

The peace lasts for only a few seconds before he realizes that he is still hard.

“Shit…” He begins rubbing his ass backward into the Lotor’s weight on him, wanting more. The temporary relief of coming once seems to have made the heat even worse when it hits him again. His brain feels fuzzy as he hears himself whimper Lotor’s name, almost like it is someone else saying it, like this can’t really be him sounding this desperate.

Lotor never even fully pulls out before he starts thrusting again. It is a bit more controlled this time, but still not gentle or slow.

Keith whimpers and squirms underneath him. The need is back and he wants it, but his body is still sensitive. Lotor is unmoved though, never slowing his pace, fucking into the very core of Keith’s body leaving Keith with little else to do other than grip the sheets.  

Lotor then leans down and wraps an arm around his chest, pulling him up on his knees flush with his body and back onto his cock. Keith eases into it, just now realizing how much bigger Lotor is compared to him, how strong he is. How he can support Keith’s weight like he weighs nothing, like he is nothing.  

In this position, his dick reaches depths Keith didn’t even think possible. Keith grinds backward into him, leaning his head back against Lotor’s chest, loving every second, every thrust, every inch.

It is the best Keith can ever remember feeling.

“Keith,” Lotor whispers beside his face, nibbling a bit on his ear.  “Look at us. Look at yourself.”

“I…. don’t…. wanna…” Keith can barely get the words out, unable to stop himself from moaning as Lotor grinds into him.

Lotor slows down then, slipping his hand down Keith’s abdomen to his stomach, settling into a gentle grind. It is nice, but not what Keith needs. Keith needs to be fucked right now.

“Please…Lotor, Please…”  

“Do it. Keith, look.”

When Keith finally looks in the mirror, he is fascinated by the sight. Lotor is so much bigger than he is, purple body draped over his, muscles working grind against Keith’s body.

Keith shudders watching himself get nailed, get fucked this hard.

“What do you see when you look at yourself?” Lotor asks. Keith doesn’t answer, closing his eyes, preferring to enjoy what Lotor is doing to him. Lotor all but stops, leaving Keith shaking.

“A boy from earth,” he finally answers, realizing Lotor isn’t going to give this up.  

“You couldn’t just be a boy from earth if you tried. Try again.”

A particularly savage thrust of Lotor’s hips brings tears to his eyes before Lotor goes back to the gentle grind, making Keith shake and moan with desire. He lets his head drop, unable to look at himself like this.

“Look, Keith, or I leave you here like this and those are not empty words.”

Maybe they are or maybe they aren’t, but Keith immediately looks up into the mirror again, dreading the idea of not getting another release soon.

“What do you see?”

“A…human.” Keith tries to drop his head again.

Lotor reaches a hand around, wrapping it around his neck, forcing his head up.

“And?”

“A Galra.”

“Good, yes Keith. You are Galra. You always have been. And what else?”    

“A soldier.”

“And?”

“A paladin of Voltron.”

“More Keith. What else.” 

“The…the black paladin.”

 “Good.” Lotor grinds his hips harder, a reward, and Keith sees stars, whimpering into Lotor’s hold.

“It is you, Keith. The universe chose you. A half-Galra. Our general. Our leader.”

Keith pushes backward into Lotor, simultaneously not wanting to think about this and preening a bit too much for his own comfort under the praise. Lotor tightens the hand around his neck again, making Keith swallow hard.

“And what do you see when you look at me?”

It is harder and harder to focus. He feels like Lotor is penetrating his entire body somehow, that all that exists in the universe is Lotor’s dick right now. He chases thoughts in his head that disappear the moment he has them.  

“Answer me, Keith.”

Keith doesn’t want to say a really hot Galra, but his brain isn’t functioning much past that point.  

“A…a beautiful…a Galra…uhm…”

“What else?”

Keith looks in the mirror again, eyeing up and down Lotor’s body, perfectly muscled, lean, but strong and all he can think is that he is perfect, he is superior.

“A…warrior.”

“What else?”

“A prince.”

“And when my father dies?”

“A king.”

Lotor momentarily tightens his hold.

“Our emperor.”

It is apparently the right thing to say. Lotor places a hand squarely on his back, pushing him back down onto the bed and thrusting into him at a pace that makes Keith wail.

Keith is gone. Whatever coherence he may have held onto before disappears as he babbles nonsense into the bed, grinding his hips backwards into the punishing pace that Lotor sets. He doesn’t care except that he needs more, wants more. He doesn’t care if it hurts. The orgasm that rips through him this time makes him white out for a moment, feeling nothing but intense waves of pleasure and the constant pressure of Lotor’s dick inside of him. Lotor comes again as well, and it feels like so much inside of him.   

Keith goes limp, closing his eyes. His muscles are jelly right now. Lotor lays on top of him and time slips by as Keith just enjoys the moment. There are a few minutes of blessed afterglow, gentle rolls of pleasure still echoing throughout his body and enjoying the feeling of Lotor being so close to him.  

He groans when he realizes that the peace isn’t going to last. He is still too hot, still hazy, still needing something. He begins to rub himself against the sheets, too far gone to be embarrassed.   

He barely feels Lotor flipping him over onto his back and nudging his legs apart again. Keith feels delirious as Lotor slides back into him. Lotor’s movements are slower now, less violent, but still firm and every thrust sends pleasure spiraling through Keith’s body. Lotor’s hair is falling on his shoulders and cheek and Keith likes it, likes how soft it feels against his skin as he takes every inch of Lotor’s dick. He gathers enough strength to reach one of his hands up and touch Lotor’s head, threading his fingers through his hair before trailing down to feel his bicep. He has no idea how Lotor is even still going especially since all Keith can do is basically lay there and take it.

This time is different, less chaotic, but somehow more intense and it goes on and on and on. The times before had been almost too fast, too violent, too messy. Now, Keith can feel everything. The drag of every ridge in Lotor’s dick seemingly designed to hit every pleasure spot in Keith’s body. Every cell of Lotor’s skin pressed against his. The soft, silky hair teasing against his body.  

Every atom in Keith’s body is buzzing with pleasure. At some point, he rubs his hand down Lotor’s back, moaning in encouragement, when he chances a glance upward. He is slightly pulled out of the moment, snorting when he realizes that there is a mirror on the ceiling. He giggles, an uncharacteristic noise for him, though he isn’t feeling particularly like himself right now.

“A mirror,” Keith gasps. “Ceiling.”  

“I appreciate all different angles. Do you like the view?”

He looks up at the ceiling, seeing Lotor’s beautiful body covering most of his. And Lotor does have a beautiful body. Perfect, smooth skin, a lean, but powerfully muscled back, an ass that Keith wishes he could grab from this position.  

All Keith can see of himself are his legs, spread to give Lotor access, and one arm rubbing gently down Lotor’s back.  

Then, he catches his own eye in the mirror and starts at the image.

He didn’t even know it was possible for him to make the facial expression he is currently making. Lips swollen, eyes husky. He can’t seem to close his mouth as each driving thrust of Lotor’s hips makes him pant and moan. He looks like one of the people he had seen in pornos and thought were overacting. _Surely sex couldn’t really make you look like a fucked out mess of a person like that_ , Keith had thought, clicking out of the browser and rolling his eyes at how fake it all seemed.

He silently apologizes for assuming they were all fake, unable to take his eyes off himself and Lotor’s driving body.

He spreads his legs further and cries out as Lotor takes advantage of the movement and nestles in, dipping deeper than before, pulling his hips up a bit.  

Keith has no idea how his body is still taking it, but he feels good. He feels like he could spend the rest of his life with Lotor inside him. Like he could die here. Like maybe he wants to die here, on his back with his legs spread in Lotor’s bed. 

He rallies his energy again to move his arms around Lotor’s shoulders, pulling him closer, reveling in the contact of their skin. Keith always liked the feeling of being close to someone like this. He kisses at Lotor’s lips and drives his hips upward, pushing for more. Lotor smiles into the kiss and then pulls back gently.

“I can’t believe how perfect you are. It is like you were made for me, to be mine.”

Keith kisses him again, unable to form words. Lotor kisses back for a moment before pulling backward.

“And I was made for you too. No one will ever be able to love you like I can. No one will ever be able to make you feel like this.”

Keith can only moan, feeling the telltale signs that he is going to come again soon. Lotor’s words wash over him and he trembles in his arms.  

“Do you like the idea of being mine?”

Keith rolls the words over in his head before losing them. All he can think about is the exact angle that will drive him over the edge, angling his hips, offering more of himself up for Lotor.

Keith nods finally, realizing that Lotor is waiting for some kind of answer.

Lotor seems excited at this, picking up the pace, Keith wailing as everything increases and increases in intensity. Then, a flash of pain in the place where his neck meets his shoulder, a sharp contrast to the softness of Lotor’s hair cascading down Keith’s chest now. The prick of pain pushes him over the edge and he thrashes underneath Lotor, this orgasm just as strong as the last. Lotor pins him, teeth in his neck, hands holding Keith’s hips, not letting him arch off the bed or squirm away and Keith screams and screams.

When he wakes up, Lotor is beside him, looking at him softly and petting his head. Keith has no idea how much time passed.

The aching heat has finally faded in intensity, but Keith is somehow still horny. It just feels normal this time though, not the weird urgent desire of before.  

Lotor idly runs a hand down Keith’s body, caressing his chest and stomach before wrapping his hand around Keith’s dick, jerking up once or twice before smiling.

“One more time? Why don’t you ride me?” he says, sitting up and opening his arms.

Keith will never admit it anywhere or to anyone, but little else feels as inviting as Lotor’s outstretched arms and hard dick right now. He crawls into Lotor’s lap, wrapping his legs around his waist.

It is different again this time. The mania of earlier is gone and all that is left is the slow, rhythmic movement of Lotor’s body into his. Lotor kisses him and then looks at him in the eyes and it is almost too much, too much to be this close and intimate, too much to share a gentle kiss and make eye contact while Lotor is buried deep inside his body. He almost wants the frantic pace of before back rather than this one now with Lotor gently caressing him. Keith lays his head on Lotor’s shoulder and Lotor curls around him, hugging him close to his body.

Something unfurls in his chest. Maybe, Keith thinks. Maybe this is it. Feelings. He does have feelings for Lotor. He feels safe here like Lotor would protect him from everything.

He realizes he has never actually had sex with someone who wasn’t just a hook up. He had never had meaningful sex, slow and gentle, with someone who would touch him gently and give him kisses on the top of his head like Lotor is now.

“Promise you won’t ever leave me.”

It slips out, horrifyingly enough. He is still sluggish, laid bare, frayed at the edges, and feels like he has been getting fucked for eternities. He knows he will be embarrassed later, but for right now he lets himself be vulnerable.  

“I will never want anyone else as much as I want you, Keith. Ever.” Lotor pulls him closer as he responds.  

Keith whimpers, rubbing his face into Lotor’s chest, hating himself for being so emotional. For wanting someone to say these words to him so much.

“I will never leave. You are mine now and I am yours. Forever.”

Keith’s chest hurts and he finds himself wanting to say what he has pretty much never said to anyone before.

_I love you_

He thinks it, but doesn’t say it. Something stills his mouth. But something else pops into his head.   

He leans against Lotor’s chest, bringing his lips near his neck. He waits a moment before sinking his teeth in. It isn’t a kink of his. In fact, he doesn’t think he has ever bitten anyone or been bitten by anyone in a sexual way before Lotor. However, it feels so good that Keith nearly comes on the spot. Lotor makes a satisfied noise, a noise that almost sounds like a purr and later Keith may laugh about that. But, for now, it feels good, the rumble in his chest, the sting of blood that eventually hits his mouth. Lotor reaches an arm around Keith and encourages him, gently putting pressure on his head, causing Keith to deepen his bite.

It is in this position that they both come again, in a gasping, sweaty mess of limbs and teeth.

 

*********

 

Keith regains consciousness very slowly. He is aware that he is awake, but his eyes are closed and he lets himself drift in that sweet area between sleep and wakefulness for as long as he wants. Everything is nebulous right now. He can’t even say for sure where he is.

He slowly, slowly feels out more of his surroundings. The soft sheets. How relaxed he feels. He clenches his hand just to make sure his body still works.

He realizes that Lotor is curled around him too and that they are spooning. He feels satisfied, truly satisfied and content. The heat is gone and he is only left with a peaceful white static, one that soothes him.

Lotor finally stirs though, stretching a bit, kissing the top of Keith’s head.

“I am starving,” Lotor says, finally breaks the silence. “We should shower and grab something to eat, or would you rather I call for room service?”

Keith is naked and so covered in various fluids that he feels like he will never be clean again.

“Maybe another day on the room service.”

They shower quickly and make their way to the dining area where the generals are gathered, already eating. Keith’s mouth waters when he realizes that they have made some sort of steak omelet. He hopes Lotor has the whole cow frozen somewhere so Keith can occasionally have a taste of home.

The breakfast is mostly silent. Keith still feels a bit out of it, like he hasn’t completely returned from the experience. Everything feels a bit surreal at the moment, eating steak with a bunch of Galra after being fucked better than ever before all night long. It is ludicrous and blissfully domestic at once.

He is finishing his omelet when he finally focuses enough to see that Acxa is eyeballing them and Ezor is smirking. Acxa finally breaks the silence.

“You know, the next time you two want to be…intimate…you could do it somewhere that everyone within two floors can’t hear it.”

Keith drops his fork, cringing hard. Lotor just shrugs.

“We honestly thought at first that you two were fighting and almost came in to stop it,” Ezor laughs.

Kova hisses at them, curling around Narti’s neck.  

“One time, when hunting on Thone-74B, I shot a wild racothe. I only wounded the beast and it screamed horribly as it tried to run away. That is what you two sounded like,” Zethrid adds.  

Keith gags, ready to die. Lotor just looks smug.

“Turn on some music or something next time,” he says, casually leaning back in his chair.  

Ezor leans over toward Keith, pinching his cheek.

“We all knew that Lotor was a screamer, but I figured you for the strong and silent type. Guess I was wrong. Really, really wrong.”

Keith puts his head in his hands and wishes he could evaporate into thin air. Despite his embarrassment, he smiles into his hands. There is something that feels warm and fuzzy about this moment.

A second later, he feels something vibrate against his thigh at this moment and realizes that he hasn’t checked his tablet in a long time. Nervously, he slips it out of one of his pouches.   

He expects a few scattered texts like he usually has from his team. There is a group text that always has some messages. A few miscellaneous texts from Shiro and Hunk. Lance as well, though he hasn’t been sending Keith messages as much lately.

However, this time there is only one, solitary, ominous message on his tablet. It is from Allura, who never sends messages, and Keith’s stomach is tightening before he even opens it.  

“You need to come back to the castle immediately.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone want to guess what Allura's message is about? 
> 
>  
> 
> Also, I really, really miss writing Klance right now lol.


	5. Your Bad Romance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith learns the truth about Lotor and everyone comes to a head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some more sexy times, but also a lot of plot crammed into 3700 words. Enjoy, hopefully? Also, see end notes for important announcement/question. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Every view, kudos, and comment makes me so happy :)

“Kolivan is dead.”

“Excuse me?”

They are sitting around the dining table. The atmosphere had been tense since the moment Keith got back to the castle. Allura looks exhausted and Shiro is eyeing Keith carefully.

“Kolivan was killed last night along with two other members of the Blade,” Allura repeats.  

Keith lets it register for a moment before slamming his fist down on the table.

“Who did it?”

Everyone looks at each other. Lance, whose eyes are shiny, scoffs angrily.  

Allura sighs. “We do not know. Their bodies were found earlier this morning. Though we don’t know for sure, we have received information that the Blade, and particularly Kolivan and his closest followers, were performing an investigation on Lotor.”

“What? That isn’t possible. Why?”

“They believed they had evidence that Lotor is trying to continue his father’s work or, rather, still establish a Galran empire. They were also looking into the idea that he is using Voltron or our new alliance with him to both gather information, tactical and otherwise, and also manipulate our plans.”

“Lotor wouldn’t do that. He told me…”

Keith cuts off, knowing exactly how he sounds.

“Ok,” he begins again. “It was just an investigation. It doesn’t mean he is guilty. And there are a number of aliens who would want Kolivan dead.”

“We understand that, Keith, trust me. And I know you have grown close to Lotor, but we need to at least entertain the idea that he is not what he says he is,” Allura responds.  

“Oh come on! Why are we even pretending like it wasn’t him?” Lance yells.

 “We are giving him the same benefit of the doubt we would any ally…” Allura begins.

“He isn’t just any ally he is fucking Zarkon’s son!”

“Lance, we need to remain calm right now,” Shiro interrupts. “Keith vouches for Lotor and that counts for at least us not jumping to conclusions.”

“Keith’s been compromised!”

There is a moment of silence. Lance turns toward Keith.  

“Keith listen, man, I get it, but he is using you.”

Keith processes the idea and rejects it. He can still feel Lotor’s body spread around him, holding him into the early hours of the morning.   

“The attack happened late in the night in this quadrant. Were you with Lotor at that time?” Allura asks.  

“Yes, I was with him at that time.”

“Is it possible he could have snuck out behind your back? I have to say I agree with Lance. Sorry Keith, I supported you two at the beginning, but it just makes too much sense all things considered,” Hunk speaks up sheepishly.  

Lance nods at Hunk.

“No, it is not possible he snuck out.”

“How do you know that for sure? If you guys were both asleep in your bedrooms…” Lance says.  

“I was with Lotor all night. In the same bedroom.” He blushes while staring everyone down, simultaneously embarrassed and daring them to say something about it.  

There is a loaded moment of silence. Lance stands up and turns around, shoulders tense and running his hands through his hair.

“Lotor did not leave last night,” Keith reaffirms.

“and his generals?”

“I do not believe they left but they were not in the same room with us.” Keith slams both hands down on the table. “Fine, let’s investigate him. Do it. Figure it out.”

“That is logically what we need to do. We can rule him in or out and then proceed from that point. If I had access to Lotor’s flight records from his mainframe, I would be able to see if any pods or ships left his base last night. That would be a start,” Pidge says.  

“I will get them. And then we can find who really killed Kolivan and avenge his death. Sound like a plan?”

He is met with mostly uneasy silence before Shiro agrees. 

He is shaking as he leaves and approaches Lotor’s base. He can’t believe Kolivan is dead. He respected the Galra and looked up to him. He had risked everything to resist Zarkon. And now he was gone, just like that. Snuffed out and left to lay dead until someone found his body.

His stomach clenches as he greets Lotor.

“What is wrong?” Lotor notices immediately, pulling him close and nuzzling the top of his head.  

“There was an attack on some Blade members last night. Kolivan is dead.”

Keith feels Lotor stiffen. “That is shocking. Who did it? You know you have our support if an attack is necessary.”  

“Well. We don’t know yet and there are some who blame you.”

Keith looks up to carefully watch Lotor’s face.  

“I am not sure why people would accuse me, but I did not kill Kolivan,” he assures Keith.   

“I trust you. But, others don’t. Pidge wants your flight records.”

“Of course. I will have Acxa pull them up now. It may take a little while though with the encoding in our system.”

“That is fine.”

“Kolivan was a great Galra. I am sorry that this senseless war has taken him. Give me a second.”

Lotor steps aside for a moment, typing into his tablet before coming back over to Keith.

“Acxa says it will take about an hour. We will figure this out, I promise. In the meantime, do you want to blow off some steam?”

Keith snorts. “I am not sure I am in the mood right now…”

Lotor smirks. “I had something else in mind. Follow me.”

He follows Lotor to their main hangar where all of their ships are stored. He follows Lotor up to his personal fighter. Lotor runs a hand down the sleek side of the ship.

“Do you want to fly her?” He asks.

Keith looks at the ship and then back to Lotor. Of course he does.  

“I do, but are you sure that is ok?”

“I am. I trust you. I would like to see how she responds under your hands.”

Keith wastes no time slipping into the cockpit and running his hands over the controls.

His emotions are still reeling from the news of losing Kolivan, of trusting and not trusting Lotor, of Lance’s words against him. Has he been compromised? Did someone he love betray him again?

He grips the controls too hard and wonders if this isn’t a good idea right now. But, as soon as he has the ship in the air, the negative emotions pulling at him start to fade.

It is different from the lions or a pod. It is more like a fighter jet that has more maneuverability. Keith goes through some basic maneuvers, getting a feel for the controls. It is jerky at first as he tries to coordinate the rotating wings, tries to figure out the twists and turns of the incredibly fast and adaptable ship. It takes a light touch and a few too hard jerks leave him barrel rolling in an unpleasant way. Another mistake nearly stalls the engine.

But then it clicks and Keith is in heaven. With a grin, he sees what she can do, pushing her to top speed and angling in turns that are far tighter than the lions allow. All he can see around him is the sky and speed pulling at him.

He is a blur of motion, streaking against the sky, and, for the moment, beautifully empty.

He finally starts to feel guilty for the length of time he has kept the ship in the sky and makes his way back to the hangar. The cock pit opens when he lands and Lotor is standing there, eyes wide.

He licks his lips before speaking. “You never fail to impress me.”

Keith shrugs. This is and what has always come naturally to him. He is meant to fly and fight and sometimes wonders how he got roped into everything else, into leading, into having to be a diplomat, into all the complexities that come with Voltron. He just wants to fly, to go fast, to hit, to bomb through life like a meteor before burning out.   

He starts to stand when Lotor presses a firm hand to his chest, pushing him back down into the seat.

“What…?” Keith starts to say before Lotor falls to his knees. Keith almost asks if he dropped something before Lotor puts his hands on his knees, spreading Keith’s legs and then settling between them.  

_Oh._

“No one has ever handled my ship that well, that fast,” Lotor says, grinning up at Keith.

“It’s what I do.”

The response barely makes sense, but Keith is mesmerized by the sight of Lotor reaching into a side compartment in the cockpit and pulling out a circular, black band.

 _A hair tie_ , Keith’s mind provides.

Gracefully, Lotor pulls his hair back, situating it in a high pony tail while smirking at Keith.

Keith swallows, already hard, wondering if anything could be hotter than the prince of the Galra on his knees before him. 

Then his fingers are on his pants, unzipping him. Lotor leans forward and licks Keith through his boxers and this might kill him. Keith literally might die here in Lotor’s ship.

Then Lotor is pulling him out and licking up his length. Keith shudders, trying to hold on, to make this last as long as possible because he wants this, he deserves this. Everything Lotor does is intense and this is no exception. He maintains eye contact with Keith as he licks his head, a small smile still on his lips. 

The inside of Lotor’s mouth is heaven, warm and tight and wet and Keith can’t stop himself from bucking his hips in time with Lotor’s bobbing.

Normally, Keith would consider this bad blow job etiquette, but they aren’t really a nice couple, even to each other. So he indulges, grabbing Lotor’s ponytail and pulling him down onto his dick.

Lotor gags, but recovers, one hand firmly on one of Keith’s thighs and the other on his hip, thumb rubbing little circles into his skin.

Keith thrusts desperately, embracing the heat that overcomes his body, throwing his head back and crying out as he comes in Lotor’s mouth.

He lets himself lay there for a moment, just enjoying the easy, relaxed silence. Then he leans up, ready to apologize for not at least warning Lotor.

He is stopped by Lotor’s lips pressing against his. It is rough as Lotor presses Keith’s head against the seat, biting at his lips, slipping his tongue into his mouth. Keith chokes, barely able to breathe, but eventually relaxes into it. Relaxes into Lotor.

When Lotor finally pulls away, Keith has to stop himself, again, from saying I love you.

 

**********

 

It is close to midnight and Keith is in his castle bedroom, struggling to sleep. It had been a week since Kolivan’s death. He had brought Lotor’s flight records back to the castle, but apparently the drive isn’t enough. Pidge carefully explains that she would need access to the mainframe, full access, because records like the ones Acxa provided could technically be faked.

So, Lotor had allowed Pidge to come to their base and access their sources, but Pidge still isn’t entirely satisfied. She explained things, in simpler terms, that nothing seemed obviously incriminating, but that the lack of data in general could indicate tampering.  

Voltron itself is split between Keith and Shiro and then Lance and Hunk representing opposing sides of whether they should trust Lotor or not. Pidge and Allura maintained a careful neutral status though Allura only seems neutral because of Shiro’s influence. Keith knows she is suspicious and perhaps Pidge as well though Pidge wants to find evidence first.  

In general, they are stuck. Unable to move beyond wondering if Lotor betrayed them at the same time as wondering if the real betrayers could be elsewhere, even among the other Blade members.

Keith rolls over a few times. He won’t admit it to himself, but he is thinking about Lotor. More specifically, how much he would rather be with Lotor right now than at the Castle. He isn’t the type to be clingy in relationships, but there is something that feels emptier about being in his bed alone now.

He rolls around a few more times before giving up and making his way to a pod. Lotor told him he could come by any time. He has all the access codes and keys now to the base. He wonders if just showing up would be weird, but figures he can play it off as him needing to get his jacket which he did legitimately leave there. Everyone should still be up as well.

He enters the base and doesn’t find Lotor in any of the training rooms or his bedroom. In fact, the place seems pretty empty from its normal activity.

He finally hears voices in their central command, clearly hearing Lotor and Acxa discussing something. Without thinking, he pushes the door open and prepares to say hello.

It takes him a few minutes to realize what he is seeing when he opens the door. Lotor and Acxa are standing in front of a person laying on the ground. They both look wide-eyed and surprised to see him.  

As Keith steps into the room, he stares at the body on the ground, realizing that it is wriggling and familiar.

Lance.

It is Lance on the ground.

His hands are bound behind his back and there is a gag in his mouth. He is on his side, facing Keith, and starts thrashing when they make eye contact. There is blood running down the side of his head.

“This isn’t what it looks like,” Lotor says.

Keith isn’t even entirely sure what he thinks it looks like. A weird joke? Some kind of sex game?

“What is happening?”

“We caught him going through our records. We thought he was a spy.”

Keith clenches a fist. That is exactly something Lance would do.

“So why is he still tied up? He isn’t a spy. He is a paladin and an idiot, but not a spy.”

There is a silence. Lance is screaming against the gag, eyes pleading.

Keith walks over, intent on freeing Lance when Acxa steps in front of his prone body on the ground. It isn’t an overt threat so much as a hint of one. Keith freezes.

He then notices Ezor off to the side of the room. She is looking down, mouth tight, carefully not making eye contact with him.

“What is going on?”

“Keith, listen…” Lotor looks over at Acxa.

“Stop trying to come up with a lie and just tell me the truth.”

“Lance shouldn’t have been poking around here.”

“Why, did he find something?”

Silence. A growing dread.

“You did kill Kolivan. You did carry on that attack. You lied to me.”

“I never lied to you. I did not personally kill Kolivan and that is the truth.”

“You called for the attack though.”

“No, I did not. I never planned an attack on the Blade.”

“But it happened anyway?”

Lotor looks at him.

“But it happened anyway.”

Keith takes a deep breath.

“Keith, listen to me. They forced my people’s hands. They chose not to trust us and our entire alliance was in danger of falling apart because of their actions.”

Keith closes his eyes momentarily. A rush of emotions hit him that he can’t even identify and he feels like he could vomit.

Upon opening his eyes again, he realizes what position he is in. Acxa stands slightly to Lotor’s left, alert and ready for action. He knows personally that Lotor would be ready to fight in a moment’s notice. Ezor had eased off to the side, not quite cutting off his exit from the room, but close. He could be easily flanked by her. And, Lance is helpless at Lotor and Acxa’s feet.

He wills himself not to pull his blade immediately.  

“You will never convince me that Kolivan deserved to die.”

“Deserved is another one of those subjective terms, Keith. Did the alien you killed to save Pidge deserve to die? Was he a bad alien?”

Keith gasps.

“You know as well as I do that we are in a war and sometimes sacrifices have to be made. Sometimes good people get caught up in bad situations and lose their lives. I trusted you to make that judgment. You need to trust me.”

“So Kolivan was just a good person who got caught up in a bad situation and had to be taken care of?”

“Yes. I did not lie to you. There was no planned attack, no planned assassination. He was convinced we were betraying Voltron. He came across Zethrid and Acxa and there was a conflict. They were defending their lives.”

“I would like to hear his side of that story, but he is dead now so we never will. You couldn’t have, I don’t know, taken him prisoner?”

“The Blade members are fierce warriors. All Galra are. They fought to the death.”

“I can’t believe I trusted you…”

“You need to trust me still. We are bonded now, Keith. And I have never lied to you, not once.”

Keith feels rage and regret spread across his body.  

He wants to kill Lotor.

He still loves Lotor.  

“Is Lance another one of those good people caught in a bad situation that needs to be taken care of?”

Lotor looks down at his wiggling form.

“He will never accept me or my people. It is only him that opposes me being an ally with Voltron. It is only him that opposes our relationship. He has even managed to turn Hunk against us too.”

Keith stills.

“How did you know that?”

“Know what?”

“That Hunk is against me and you now. He has only said that recently in a private meeting.”

“Lance told me.”

Lance furiously shakes his head.

Keith narrows his eyes. “Did you bug me?”

“No, never, I didn’t, I wouldn’t do that.”

“You totally bugged me.”

“I’m not lying to you. You are not bugged. You can check. You can have Pidge check.”

“Did you bug the castle?”

“No. I did not bug the castle. This isn’t what is important right now anyway, Keith. Lance is a problem.  He will tell everyone about Kolivan and the alliance will fall apart. Our vision will be ruined.”

“What vision?”

“Our vision, Keith. Don’t throw all of this away because of one disagreement. We can bring peace to the entire universe. We can end war, poverty, famine. It is so close. We are almost there. It is our job, our duty, our mission that we will accomplish together, me and you.”

“And this peace will be gained through benevolent Galra rule over the entire universe and “taking care of” any good people who get in the way?”

“Peace has a price.”

“And Lance is part of that price.”

“There are options that don’t involve killing him.”

Keith shifts his weight. He knows what he has to do now. It is crystal clear in his head.

He walks over slowly to Lotor and Lance. He carefully keeps his hands in sight and away from his blade. Lotor is looking at him fondly, pleading, but his hand is near his blade. Keith understands now.

He ignores Lance’s still wriggling form and walks up to Lotor. There is a moment of tense silence where he searches the prince’s eyes before grabbing the front of his armor and dragging him closer.

Acxa grabs her weapon, only standing down when Lotor lifts a hand to her.  

“You shouldn’t have lied to me, even by omission. If we are in this together, then we need to be open with each other. Understand? We make these decisions together from now on.”

Lotor nods.

Lance had gone silent beneath them. Keith lets go of Lotor, leaning down beside the blue paladin.

The look in Lance’s eyes is terrible and Keith can barely stand it.

“What are the options for Lance that don’t involve killing him,” Keith says, trying to sound casual.

He can tell that Lotor is watching him closely. “We can dig around in his brain. There are ways. My mom could help or the other druids. It would be like he never knew about Kolivan. She can be here by the afternoon.”

“It wouldn’t hurt him?”

“No.”

“And that isn’t a lie by omission?”

“No.”

“Then let’s put him in one of your cells and get our stories straight while she gets here.”

Keith carefully pulls the now quiet Lance to his feet, trying not to hurt his hands that have been wrenched behind his back.  

Lotor narrows his eyes, moving next to Keith.

“I will escort you two, of course.”

Keith figured as much. He isn’t a great actor. He just needs an opening, a chance. As they near the doorway, Keith leans forward to slide the door open, aware of Lotor right on his heels and Acxa and Ezor not far behind. When he leans forward, he takes the chance to whisper to Lance.

“You were right about everything. I’m sorry.”

In one fluid motion, he cuts the bonds off Lance’s hands and pushes him as hard as possible, praying he understands what he needs to do. Then he slams the door shut, locking it. The last thing he sees is Lance running down the hallway.

It feels like Lotor punches him in the back as he locks the door. There is a strange pressure in his body all of a sudden.  

“That wasn’t a very good idea, sweetheart,” Lotor speaks behind him, pulling him backward. Keith tries to grab his blade, but his body doesn’t seem to be working right.  

“Bring him back, alive,” he says as Ezor and Acxa run out the door. Keith had hoped he could have done more, fought, given Lance a bit more time. But his body isn’t quite cooperating and something feels wrong. Intense heat spreads across his midsection, and he looks down to see red all over his hands.

Oh.

The punch had been Lotor’s sword.

He falls backward into Lotor’s arms.

“Come here,” Lotor says, gathering him, picking him up bridal style and cradling him to his chest.

“You were always terribly fond of him, weren’t you?”

As Keith is carried out of the room, his vision blurs. The last thing he remembers feeling is a kiss pressed to his forehead and then there is only darkness.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Deleting the original end note to say there is officially a continuation-you can click on the series link above to find it or find it here!
> 
>  
> 
> [Monster](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12360102/chapters/28115181)
> 
>  
> 
> You can follow me on Tumblr too if you want to here. I sometimes post about writing, but also a lot of stuff about Voltron/Lotor/Keith.
> 
>  
> 
> [My Tumblr](http://furiouskanekicollector.tumblr.com/)

**Author's Note:**

> This is partially taken from a future unpublished plotline of a discontinued fic I started. You do not have to read that fic to understand this one at all, but I do actually write out the mission that is only summarized in Chapter 1 of this fic. If you want, you can read it Chapters 13, 14, and 15 of that fic (Scared and Aroused) linked below.
> 
>  
> 
> [Chapter 13, 14, 15](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10876647/chapters/25750551)
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for reading.


End file.
